Coffee Enthusiast Reviews

My handground just came and I wasted no time! Here are my unboxing photos and first impressions. Well made and solid. The design, which first interested me is very impressive up close. Good documentation and instructions. Super easy to use, and indeed, the French press setting was super consistent and made a very smooth first cup!

This is by far the absolute best hand grinder I have ever used. And I've owned ALL the "recommended by the pros" hand grinders....from Lido to Hario to Porlex. This produces a very consistent particulate size and very few fines. Perfectly stable burrs. Super clean cup. Plus the handle design is very easy to turn. Plus no outside air touches the beans or the grounds. The price? Dirt cheap.

Handground takes all the critical design aspects of a commercial quality grinder, and puts it into an affordable and simple package. Handground has become the exclusive hand grinder on our shelves, for great reason.

Handground has produced the best hand grinder I have worked with. Aesthetics are current and classy and the functionality is great with easy micro adjustments that actually work while adjusting your grind

Yesterday, I received my new coffee grinder from Team Handground which I supported through Kickstarter. I am delighted. I was pleased with the packaging and the fit and finish of the grinder was excellent. I have run three batches through, two for French Press, settings 7.5 and 7, and one for espresso, setting 1. I was pleased that it was not difficult to crank, in spite of the fact that my right arm is extremely weak due to nerve damage. Obviously the espresso grind took longer, but was not harder. Compared to my cheap blade grinder the cup from the French press was notably cleaner, brighter, with much less sediment. It was really quite amazing. I will, of course, fine tune the grind, mass, and extraction time. I have considerable more study to do with the espresso machine; I am not yet a very good barista. Very, very well done.

Video Reviews

Amazon Reviews

This little guy is truly a beautiful bit of engineering. I have a very expensive electric grinder but I don't want to bring it along in the RV. Looking at the innards I can see the burr grinder is identical to the grinder in my expensive electric. The top part where the beans go in is twist right to remove and the bottom part where the ground coffee ends up is twist left to remove. As odd as this might seem, it's absolutely essential to the design because you hold the opposite end to unscrew either. It totally works.

It's as physically beautiful as a machine can be, yet as useful as a simple machine should be. Very high quality aesthetically too. Fifteen different grind settings and it includes some additional washers and an Allen wrench if you want to fine tune the grind. (Instructions on-line) The bottom of the unit has a neat non-skid rubbery surface that keeps the grinder very stable on your counter top.

I really am pleased with my purchase. The only down side I noticed is how long it takes to grind the beans. It takes a few minutes of cranking. I'm certain this is just the physics. How fast is my electric grinder with the identical burr mechanism spinning compared to the speed I can turn a hand crank? There you go. However, the results are the same: a nice even and uniform grind. Very nice. Great job and high kudos to the designers and manufacturer.

I kickstarted the Handground back in March of 2015. Based on the campaign information, I had a lot of confidence that the team had a good plan and the will to make it reality. About a week ago, the finished product arrived.

In terms of design, I had previously been using the Hario Mini Mill. It was a competent grinder, but it was cheaply built and had a tendency to stick and pop the handle off. Immediately the superior build quality and overall design on the Handground stood out. Visually, it's a beautiful grinder to have sitting at my desk, and the integrated handle functions better both in terms of being incapable of falling off and being a better ergonomic approach. The container at the bottom is made of a heavy glass, while the hopper and top are plastic. The grinding handle is a very solid metal and wood combination that reinforces the elegant design approach. In general, it takes longer to grind the same amount of coffee compared to the Hario, but it's far more comfortable.

Initially, I had some issues with the grind size. I use a French Press, and the maximum grind size was too fine. I sent an email explaining the issue to Handground, and I had a reply with a link to a video to adjust the grind size inside of an hour. A 10 minute adjustment later, and the grind size was where I needed it to be. The package included an Allen wrench and washers to allow adjustment either way, and the process was very well explained in a video they host on the site. The grind itself has been very consistent.

Work week coffee the electric grinder and Ottomatic get a workout. On the weekend it's all about the cup. With fresh roasted beans, 15 various brew methods to chose from and a manual grinder the zen kicks in.

Being part of the Kickstart project I found it quite educational watching the progress (and some time slow process) of developing a product. After almost 2 years my Handground grinder arrived and it was worth the wait!

Manual grinders can be a pain. I have 3 different horizontal crank grinders and not a one feels natural. The Handground solves that. With the vertical crank design I can finally have consistent fresh ground coffee without the obnoxious loud electric grinder.

I'm a fan of this grinder, I'd hoped it would work out when I contributed to the kickstarter campaign and it's turned out to be one of my best investments through the site.

Pros:* Consistent grind - This is really important to me and I ground about 8oz of coffee beans through it when I first got it finding my preferred settings for drop, aeropress, and espresso (and I'll tell you my arm was tired). Through all of it I was incredibly happy with how consistent each grid is when done.

* Vertical handle - I've had four or five burr grinders before the Handground and all of them have had a horizontal handle. This means you have to either hold the grinder in your hand or you are fighting a twisting motion as you spin the handle. With the vertical handle it's much easer to deal with. You place it on the counter or table, put one hand on top, and start to grind. No fighting against a twist or wobble. The whole unit takes less effort to stabilize. It's also shaped well so you can hold if in your hand if you want, thought people with smaller hands may find it a bit big.

* Smooth action - Whether I'm grinding at the most course or at its finest setting the mechanics work smoothly. Sure you get the hiccup from time to time when a bean wedges itself in there (no escaping that) but overall this device is very smooth.

* Solidly built - The whole thing just feels good in the hand. The pieces go together and come apart without issue and when it's together it is solid.

Cons:* Doesn't sit without the base - I've dropped it three times already when trying to put it down without the catch/base attached. It's too top heavy to stay upright but It isn't a natural feeling to me to set something like this down on its side (esp when it still has beans in it) after I've removed the base to get at the grounds.

* Not great for lefties! - It's a burr grinder so be sure you turn the handle the right way. If you're holding it in your right hand and turning the handle with the left you have to pull towards yourself (at the finest setting you could damage the ceramics) which isn't a natural feeling

* Some noise - After a bit of use I get some squeaking in the handle where it enters the cap.

All in all this is a great device and I am going to purchase a second so I have one at work and in my RV.

I backed this from kickstarter, and it has been amazing to see it come together into such truly great product!

I have the white color. I have used a Porlex grinder in the past which is good, but HandGround has taken the handgrinder to a whole new level.

This is the BEST hand grinder on the market, especially for the price.Amazing buy for someone who is a coffee nerd who likes to hand grind coffee!Or someone who needs a quiet grinder, for those early morning cups!